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Sunday, July 3, 2016

Supreme Court: Robbing drug dealers is a federal offense

In Taylor v.
United States , decided June 20, 2016, by a 7-1 vote, with the
exception of Justice Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court
gave all conscientious, sentencing-reform-minded folks swift kick in the pants, reported JURIST.

"Because the Hobbs Act criminalizes robberies and
attempted robberies that affect any commerce 'over which the US has
jurisdiction,' the prosecution in a Hobbs Act robbery case satisfies the act's
commerce element if it shows that the defendant robbed or attempted to rob a
drug dealer of drugs or drug proceeds."

"The Hobbs Act makes it a crime for a person to affect
commerce, or to attempt to do so, by robbery. In an opinion by Justice Samuel
Alito, the Court found that because Congress has the power to regulate the
marijuana under the Commerce Clause, Congress may also regulate drug theft. 'By
targeting a drug dealer in this way, a robber necessarily affects or attempts
to affect commerce over which the United States has jurisdiction.'"

Justice Clarence Thomas filed a dissenting opinion. He would
'hold that the Act punishes a robbery only when the government proves that the
robbery itself affected interstate commerce.'"

Respectfully, we submit that in his dissent in Taylor,
Justice Thomas is the lone Justice to get it right. (And, one has to wonder if
his position might have carried more weight= —maybe even the day= —had it had
the backing of a still-alive, formidable and feisty, Justice Scalia).

In his dissent, Justice Thomas writes: "When courts
construe criminal statutes" it goes without saying that, "they must
be especially careful. And when a broad reading of a criminal statute would upset
federalism, courts must be more careful still."

Thomas concludes that the majority opinion "fails to
identify the language in the Hobbs Act that" unequivocally evidences
"Congress' intention to reach the sorts of local, small-scale robberies
that States traditionally prosecute."

Taylor was convicted of two separate robberies of low-level
marijuana dealers. The underwhelming spoils of Taylor's crimes: three cell
phones, $40, some jewelry, and a marijuana cigarette= —hardly, one would think,
reason to invoke federal prosecution under the Hobbs Act= —with each charged
Hobbs Act violation exposing Taylor to up to 20 years in federal prison (where
under federal sentencing law he will have to serve a minimum of 85 percent of
his sentence, even with credit for good behavior).

About Matt

An analysis of crime and punishment from the perspective of a former prosecutor and current criminal justice practitioner.
The views expressed on this blog are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinions or postions of any county, state or federal agency.